Detect Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager Path Traversal Exploitation in Elastic Security
Detects exploitation attempts targeting CVE-2026-20262, a path traversal vulnerability (CWE-22) in Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager. Active exploitation has been confirmed by CISA KEV. Attackers can traverse directory boundaries via crafted HTTP requests to access sensitive files outside the web root, potentially exposing credentials, configuration data, or enabling further compromise of the SD-WAN management plane.
MITRE ATT&CK
Elastic Detection Query
sequence by source.ip with maxspan=5m
[network where event.category == "network" and
url.path : ("*../*", "*..%2f*", "*..%2F*", "*%2e%2e%2f*", "*%2e%2e/*") and
url.path : ("*/dataservice/*", "*/management/*", "*/template/*", "*/config/*")]
[network where event.category == "network" and
http.response.status_code in (200, 201, 206) and
url.path : ("*../*", "*..%2f*", "*..%2F*")]EQL sequence detection correlating path traversal requests to Cisco SD-WAN Manager API paths with successful HTTP responses, indicating successful file read exploitation.
Data Sources
Required Tables
False Positives & Tuning
- Security scanning platforms that chain multiple traversal requests during assessment workflows
- SD-WAN Manager upgrade or migration processes that generate sequential API calls with unusual paths
- Monitoring integrations that poll multiple SD-WAN endpoints in rapid succession
Other platforms for CVE-2026-20262
Testing Methodology
Validate this detection against 4 adversary techniques from Atomic Red Team. Each test below lists the behaviour to exercise and the telemetry you should expect to see. Executable commands and cleanup steps are available with Pro.
- Test 1Basic Path Traversal File Read via SD-WAN Manager API
Expected signal: Web server access log entry with URI containing '../../../../etc/passwd', HTTP response code 200 or 400/403 depending on patch status, source IP of test host
- Test 2URL-Encoded Path Traversal Against SD-WAN Template API
Expected signal: Access log entry with raw URI containing %2e%2e%2f sequences targeting /template/ endpoint, HTTP response code logged by web server before or after URL normalization
- Test 3Double-Encoded Traversal Bypass Attempt
Expected signal: Access log entry with double-encoded URI; if the server double-decodes the URL, a subsequent audit log event showing /etc/passwd file access at the OS level
- Test 4Traversal to SD-WAN Configuration File for Credential Harvesting
Expected signal: Multiple HTTP requests in quick succession with traversal sequences targeting vmanage configuration paths; response sizes indicating file content if successful
References (4)
- https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-sdwan-arbfw-c2rZvQ
- https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/directives/bod-26-04-prioritizing-security-updates-based-risk
- https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/directives/bod-26-04-implementation-guidance-prioritizing-security-updates-based-risk
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-20262
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